Have you ever sat down and made a mental audit of yourself? Have you ever looked deep inside of you and discovered that you really have a lot of potential? Have you ever wondered why there is a big divide between the rich and the poor, the rich getting richer and the poor seem to be getting poorer?
What is it about these life that we live that is really a difference maker? Have you thought of that lately?
There have been quite a number of significant events and happenings that may well help us get some insight into what this difference maker is.
The world athletic championship in Berlin has seen the likes of Usain Bolt break their own world records in mesmerising fashion, Many of the athletes showed a performance that was a class apart from the Beijing Olympics a few months ago, performed by these same athletes! Why?
When we come to the Ashes, the England team won quite decisively to reclaim the Ashes from Australia whom they lost to in the last series test. What happened to the England Cricket team this time around? What made the difference? Do you know?
And look at the A - level results that were recently released here in England, another record broken by our youngsters! The results released showed a marked difference from the results of last year. Much more A's and improvements in league tables.
Surely, the world record breaking results and triumphs of the likes of Usain Bolt just don't happen, there is a formula behind these outstanding performances and the forward & upward trajectory that we seem to notice here.
And here it is....
It is called IMPROVEMENT. Yes Improvement is..., for lack of a better word, the 'mother' of progress. To Improve means to make something better.
Allow me ask you a simple question; Are you happy with the way things are in your life? If not, do you hope it could be better in anyway? Did you know you can IMPROVE your life and ditch the status quo?
This questions are the burden of this article, you see, we are not called to live lives of stagnation, helplessness, mediocrity and stress, oh no, we can live fruitful, vibrant, wonderful lives and we will find out how shortly.
But first,..
Ask yourself this question: Can my life be better than it is now?
Your answer, I believe should be a resounding YES! And guess what, its very true.
Why so,
Because it comes about by making little and small adjustments in your attitudes and beliefs and before long, you will be breaking your own world records and living your dreams, you will become very formidable, strong in character and admirable among many.
Now, without further adieu, lets first have an illustration of IMPROVEMENT:
Imagine with me the small snow flakes falling and falling and falling. over time they gather together into heaps and become icy and can cause humans trouble. You have heard of for example recently when, because of the heavy snow, schools had to shut, roads were impassable, public transport had to be halted. The small snow flakes had 'come together' and their combined effect was very formidable. The individual snow flakes in themselves could do nothing.
That is, to say metaphorically, what happens to us also when we improve our lives little by little in small areas and do it over time, our character becomes very formidable and strong, you become irresistible and a force to reckon with. You catch my point,right?
Alright then, You might be wondering at this moment as to how many or what areas of your life you need to improve to really get the most out of your life.
At this point, I think it would be safe to consider what Michael Vance called the 8 equities:"Physical, Spiritual, psychological, intellectual, emotional, Financial, Social and Family.
I am confident that when we make it our daily quest to at least do one thing every day that will improve one of the above 8 'equities', our lives will never be the same, they will consistently move upward and forward.
We will look at improvement in the above 8 'equities' by broadly looking at Improvements in your TIME management, Your HEALTH and Your MIND which form a foundation for your core goals(Health & Energy, good career, excellent relationships, financial independence)
In each case the decisive factors in the achievement of these goals that we all hold in common is the development of the specific habits that lead automatically and inevitably to the results that you want to achieve. Let's see.
TIME
This is the element of which life is made of. Do not squander it. Your time is your greatest asset and your greatest ally in most of the things you will encounter while here on earth. Its been rightly said that; 'The rich and the poor have one thing in common- they are all given 24 hours every day, the difference however is how the rich and the poor use this 24 hours'. How are you using yours today?
Many books and lectures have been given on the subject of time management, and it all boils down to one thing: You can not save time. It will continue to tick no matter what activity(valuable or not) you do, it wont wait for you. It therefore matters a lot what you do everyday in the 24 Hours that you are given daily.
In improving your life, it would be wise to reassign your time from activities of low value to activities of high value.
For example, try to spend time with your children when you return from work than to sit down and catch up with TV shows. Family time should be a sacred time for you if I may suggest.
Also, plan your activities other than just 'falling' into them. One of the best ways of doing that is not to just do things but rather to perform them. There is a big paradigm shift here.
Let me explain..
When you are in a performance frame of mind, you will choose to carefully plan and programme yourself for the performance as opposed to when you are in a mental frame of 'just doing something'. The difference in outcome is huge, I know so.
One of the best uses of your time should be to get better at the most important things you do. Your goal ideally should be to upgrade your skills so that you achieve more and better results in a shorter period of time.
Remember, your time is your life, you will need time to do almost anything and everything conceivable. Guard your time like you would your treasure, because it is indeed your treasure.
Take for example your financial life, people are paid at work for the number of hours they work, employment contracts have clauses like; 35 or 40 hours per week, other people are paid per hour.
Essentially, you are paid for your time! make that time valuable and you will even be paid more.
On the other hand, you could start up your own business and really make the most of your time, I guess you know what financial stake you will have.
Anyway,
Make your time Count for something, and let it be something worthwhile.
YOUR HEALTH
You can not really talk about health without talking about the body, true? yes.
You see, your body, if i may say metaphorically; is the vehicle that you use to move about in this earth. The state of that vehicle in terms of its functionality should be of prime importance to you if you want to go far in life and enjoy your journey while at it.
In improving your life therefore, you've got to keep your physical body in tip top condition. Do health checks every now and then to monitor the state of your health, think about what goes through your mouth, some people in their earlier years used to watch what they ate, but now, they can not be bothered and they eat anything they watch as for long as it is edible, what a shame. That is a clear recipe for trouble in your health sooner than later.
Do some bit of exercise, just 30 minutes of brisk walking everyday will do your 'vehicle' wonders, you could obviously do more than just walking and go to the gym and work out, however, 30 minutes should suffice. At least strive to do 120 minutes of exercise a week as a minimum.
Look after yourself. Keep an 'eye' at your health.
YOUR MIND
Now this is what I call the epicenter of your life. What happens here affects how you use your time and how you value your health and eventually how you champion the course of your life.
Most unprecedented changes in peoples lives happen by improvements in their minds first. No wonder Apostle Paul said: "...but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2. Transformation in your life first happens by your mind being renewed. Any thing that is renewed invariably is better than the former one, right?
We ought to therefore be at the forefront of renewing our minds daily, not just when it is convenient, but daily.
In Michael Vance's 8 equities we looked at earlier, the vast majority of them fall under your mind; psychological, intellectual, emotional, spiritual. These are very powerful elements of your mind that affect you thoughts and eventually your life. They help form your beliefs and attitudes.
Depending on how developed your mind is, you will realise that, some beliefs that we have could be self limiting beliefs. You know, the 'I can't sort of beliefs'.
In IMPROVING your life, one of the most important steps you take is to challenge your self limiting beliefs because, your beliefs eventually determine your habits.
Undoubtedly, changing your beliefs is one of the most testing things you will ever do, but none the less the most important things to do especially if they are limiting you.
The good news is that, given the fact that all beliefs are learned, you can unlearn them, for anything that is learned can be unlearned including your beliefs.
Use your will power and discipline to shape your personality and character in almost anyway you desire.
I am a ware that some of us are better placed in society and have it all going for them, at least they can confidently say, well, the LORD has been good to me.
They have a wonderful family, the material possessions others just dream about, they enjoy good health, their emotional & psychological make up is not bad.
Waw, if you are one of those people, you have a good record, be proud of what you have accomplished but be not satisfied, be confident but not complacent, you have more work to do and more promises to keep, and one of those promises is to improve your life on a day to day basis.
The likes of President Obama, Usain bolt, Tiger woods, Ronaldo, and..... (Put your name) are men like you and I who have simply horned the concept of improvement and the good news is that you can do it too, and make your life a wonder. Improvement in the little things over time makes a huge difference. Always strive to improve on your last performance.
As for long as you are committed to live a life of IMPROVEMENT, you will be celebrated eventually. Just keep at it - IMPROVING. It does not matter in what area, just keep IMPROVING.
Do it by practice and repetition. At times, in fact, on many occasions, you will have to persevere and persist, hang in there, the pay off is worth it. Keep taking the baby steps, they all add up eventually, so do not despire. It calls for determination.
Here is the action point:
Just do it! Step out in faith and do it. If you think of some action you can take to IMPROVE your life, give it a try, you may be surprised. obviously along the way, you are bound to make mistakes. But you don't know where the edge lies until you've been over it, take one step at a time.
When in doubt, ACT with Audacity, be brave, be BOLD, no hung ups, no hold ups, loosen your creativity, dare to dream and IMPROVE your life. Set no limitations or boundaries. The keys are in your hands.
Have an excellent week, It's been a wonderful honour hosting you. Till next time, be sure to take good care of yourself.
Peace & Love
Libs.
